Psst! Wanna buy a road?

Gov. Corzine seems stunned by the backlash against the proposal to squeeze money out of the Turnpike, Parkway and Expressway by selling, leasing, or borrowing against future toll revenues.

It's hard to imagine he didn't see it coming and take steps to blunt the reaction.

The private sector let's-make-a-deal mindset blinded the Administration to the reality that what drives decisions on Wall Street drives people nuts on State Street.

The Governor made it worse when he said he wouldn't be ready with any definitive plan until after the November election. Not many legislators were about to strap themselves into the cockpit of this kamikaze mission before then in any event.

He followed with a public relations blunder when he squandered the opportunity at the public signing of a state budget to boast that it offered property tax relief, no new or increased taxes, more state aid to education, etc.

He trampled on his own story by having his photo taken waving a Republican campaign brochure attacking the highway sale-lease-bond plan.

Nobody saw this coming, either?

It's not that people love their toll roads. For most, they are a source of non-stop cussing and rude hand gestures to other drivers.

But, they don't believe the Administration's promises about what would happen if the state turned the roads over or used them to raise billions of dollars without relinquishing ownership.

They fear that tolls will rise; potholes will go unfilled, and snow will be allowed to melt in days rather than plowed in minutes.

Gleeful Republicans are winning. They've raised the prospect of the roads being sold or leased to foreign corporations or being used to shower billions of dollars into the hands of Democrats who will spend it.

Democratic legislators have deserted the Administration in droves, publicly pledging undying faith in continued state ownership of the toll roads as they try desperately to distance themselves from moving ahead with the sale, lease or bonding proposal.

The Governor and the Democrats have been thrown onto the defensive and the Republicans running in this year's legislative elections will do whatever they can to keep them there.

Wise political heads could have avoided this whole mess by suggesting the Administration's bean counters stick to counting beans and stay away from politics.